Monitoring arterial oxygen saturation in the neonate

Term neonates (N = 35) with an one minute Apgar score of > 8 and mean umbilical artery pH values within normal were monitored by pulse oximetry. SaO2 monitoring started one minute after delivery. The initial SaO2ranged from 40 to 75%. Neonates with a SaO2above 80% five minutes after delivery remained untreated, neonates with a SaC2 below 80% received mask CPAP (figure 1). The initial difference in SaO2between the groups was statistically significant (p < 0.05). Mean umbilical artery pH and one, five and ten minutes Apgar score values were statistically not significant between the groups (p > 0.05). CPAP had been terminated soon as sao2had reached 90%. this had been the lowestvalue monitored in spontaneously breathing neonates one day after delivery. our findings indicate that neonates may sustain pro- longed periods of decreased SaO2 which had not been detected by umbilical artery pH nor by the Apgar score. SaO2 monitoring by pulse oximetry served as a valuable method in the immediate newborn evaluation.